A new book is available that you need to add to your library.  Evangelical and Frontier Mission: Perspectives on the Global Progress of the Gospel is edited by two of my friends, Beth Snodderly and Scott Moreau. This work represents a collection of chapters related to missions past, present, and future.

Beth is President of William Carey International University and Southwest Regional Vice President of the Evangelical Missiological Society.  You may find several of her blog posts at the William Carey International Development Journal.   Scott is Professor of Intercultural Studies and Missions at Wheaton College. He is Editor of Evangelical Missions Quarterly and General Editor of the Encountering Mission series (Baker Books).

I recently asked Beth to comment on this work.  Here is the interview.

Can you provide a brief overview of this book?
This book is a collection of case studies in evangelical reflection and praxis in relation to what we see as the continuing frontiers in mission. This means that the collection is not intended to give a full picture of Evangelicals and all of our efforts. Rather, it is a picture highlighting elements of what we as editors consider the most central of the numerous evangelical missional trajectories.  Despite the numerical success of Evangelicals globally over the twentieth century, there are significant challenges ahead. In the final section we are oriented to some of these challenges.

BTW, Raising Leaders is a excellent resource on leadership development.  I know it is pricey, but the pre-1997 photo of Neil makes it worth it!

While I just started reading through Journeys to Significance, I had been wanting to do an interview with Neil about this book.  This morning, however, I received a series of promotional videos with him responding to some of the questions I was planning on asking.  So, in light of the fact that I dragged my feet on compiling my questions and that the Leadership Network videos are of excellent quality, I have embedded them here for your viewing.

For those of you who are used to Neil’s writings, you need to realize that this is a different kind of book.  He notes,

“What makes this book different from the many similar books already available is that it does not just analyze Paul’s life historically and present missional insights and theological implications.  This book offers strategic missional lessons that can help you be more fruitful; but, even more, it focuses on the leadership formation that Paul went through. ”

This leadership formation of Paul is an interesting perspective, one not often discussed. So, whether or not you agree with Neil’s perspective and argument in Journeys to Significance, you will be challenged and stretched in your understanding of leadership development and the life of Paul.

What is the Big Idea of the book?

On Paul the Learner

What can leaders learn from this book?

Dr. Terry Dorsett has written  a new book for the bivocational leader:  Developing Leadership Teams in the Bivocational Church.  I have known Terry for a few years.  He has been involved in pastoral and church planting ministries in different parts of the United States.  Presently, he serves in Vermont, helping plant churches throughout the state.

Bivocational ministers are critical to the birth and growth of churches.  I recently asked Terry a few questions about his new book and wanted to share his responses with you.

Can you give us a brief introduction to your book? My book grew out of my doctoral studies. I had to do a project that met a real need in my ministry area as a Director of Missions. Since 30 out of 37 of the pastors in the association I serve are bivocational, that was an obvious area of need. I wanted something very practical that would provide help to bivocational pastors that were on the edge of burning out. I did not want to write a book that would just “encourage” them but one that would also give pastors practical assistance. I did not want to write a book that would just give them theories but that would show some of the best practices of healthy bivocational ministries.

The first section of the book sets the ground work for why bivocational ministry is both biblical and needed in American church life. I hope this encourages pastors and gives them some concepts to contemplate. The second section of the book gives six practical lessons bivocational pastors can use to train their people to assist them in ministry as a leadership team. This is the part that I hope pastors will use to become more effective in their ministries.

You address how bivocational pastors can avoid burnout. Can you briefly share with us your thoughts on this matter? Though all pastors can become burned out, bivocational pastors often face that danger with less education, fewer support mechanisms, and less help from church members and denominational agencies than their fully-funded colleagues. Though the reasons for burnout are many, in my experience, most pastors burnout because they just try to do too much. They tend to make all the visits, preach all the sermons, teach all the mid-week Bible studies, lead many of the various committee meetings, etc. It is hard for fully-funded pastors to keep up with all those activities and simply impossible for bivocational pastors. Pastors must learn to delegate some of their duties to others. While some pastors are willing to delegate small tasks to others, they are often less willing to delegate larger ministry tasks for fear those tasks will not be done adequately. However, if pastors only delegate menial tasks, it will not relieve enough of the burden to make a long term difference. If pastors want to avoid burnout, they must be willing to delegate high-level ministry to others and trust people to do high-level ministry well.

You do a great deal of work with church planters. What makes this book important for those involved in this type of ministry? In our context, almost all of the new churches we start will eventually end up being served by bivocational pastors. Since that is the case, we are encouraging church planters to be bivocational to begin with, even if they have raised the funds to be fully funded. This encourages church planters to build the concepts of the book into the DNA of the church from the beginning. It is much easier to start a new church with the concepts of team leadership and shared pastoral duties than it is to change the leadership structure and expectations once the congregation becomes more established.

How does this book differ from other books on developing leadership teams? I think there are two main differences in this book from other books about leadership teams. First, this book teaches the pastor to be part of the team instead of “over” the team or “under” the team. In many pastoral leadership models, the pastor is clearly in charge, and everyone works to accomplish his goals. This tends to become a dictatorship over time, even if unintentionally so. In other leadership models, a group (elders, deacons, etc) are in charge, and the pastor “works” for them. That particular model is almost always a disaster. My book promotes the concept that the pastor is part of the leadership team and equal to the others on the team. It is more of shared leadership than anyone being over anyone else. That leadership model does require letting go of our egos and our personal agendas, but shouldn’t Christian leaders be trying to do that anyway?

Second, the pastor allows other people on the team to share the pulpit. In most churches the pastor does all the preaching. This book promotes the idea that other people on the team should also share part of the preaching duties. Obviously the pastor will still probably preach the majority of the time, but the other team members regularly take a turn preaching so that the pastor has some built-in down time to relax with his family, or attend a renewal conference, or just enjoy hearing a good message from one of his fellow partners in ministry. Each church will have to work out the specific details on their own, but the concept of shared leadership works best when the pulpit is shared as well.

For whom is this book written? This book was written for pastors and key lay leaders (such as deacons, elders, or church council members) of small churches. If ONLY the pastor reads the book, it will be much less effective than if the other leaders read it as well. Too often a pastor reads a book or attends a conference and gets all excited about whatever ideas he was exposed to and then tries to “sell” the idea to the rest of the leadership. Since the rest of
the leadership did not share in the experience, they will also not likely share in the excitement. But if they all read the book together and discuss it together, they will have greater unity about how to apply it to the life of the church. That is why the second half of the book is designed to be done as a group, which is part of the overall success of the concept.

Would this book be valuable to pastors who are not bivocational? I wrote this book with bivocational pastors in mind. The first half of the book is clearly designed for them and will address the specific needs of bivocational pastors. But a number of pastors who are fully-funded have told me that the second half of the book, which includes the six training sessions, applies to their ministries just as well as it does to bivocational pastors. I have been surprised how many emails and Facebook messages I’ve gotten from fully-funded pastors who are using the book.

Thank you, Terry, for sharing with us today about your book.

So, now that you know, you need to check out this highly practical resource.

Joy is the Senior Associate for Diasporas with the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. And I believe he is engaged in one of the most important burgeoning aspects of missions in the 21^st century.

For those of you not familiar with the topic of diaspora missiology, I have written about it at the links listed below:

Diaspora Missiology: Part 1-Interview with Dr. Enoch Wan

Diaspora Missiology: Part 2-What in the World is God Doing?

Diaspora Missiology: Part 3-May 4, 2010 Interview with Dr. Sadiri Joy Tira

Diaspora Missiology: Part 4-Students

Diaspora Missiology: Part 5-Refugees

Diaspora Missiology: Part 6-Immigration and North America

I was able to interview Joy this week, and wanted you to hear from his heart on the topic of Diaspora and Cape Town 2010.  Please note:  These questions were asked prior to his presentation.

Thank you, Joy, for taking time out of your busy schedule this week to share with us.  Why is it important that the topic of Diaspora be included as one of the sessions at Cape Town 2010?

Diaspora is a global issue that impacts all levels of life — (e.g. in no particular order: economics, justice, security, politics, culture, social, and theology/pluralistic multicultural society, church growth, evangelism, missions, etc.).  Therefore, the global population movement is a major issue in the age of a “borderless and globalized” world.  Mass migration is a 21st Century reality.  How do we evangelize the people on the move? How do we plant churches in places where people are moving?  How do we do church business when congregations have become multi-racial, multi-cultural, trans-national?  This is an issue of great magnitude that affects our life, the church, and how we “do” missions.

Since you have been at Cape Town 2010, can you share with us what you think is the interest level of the participants on the topic of Diaspora?

As I move from one “table to another” I am hearing positive signals like “Yeah, this is an important issue.  I want to attend the Multiplex and am looking forward to the Diaspora presentation.”  However, it is hard to measure the level of interest when it is like walking into a restaurant with a huge buffet table of many choices.

What do you hope is the result of your presentation on Diaspora?

Bottom line:  The Church must not ignore the People on the Move! Missions must be multi-directional and should no longer be lineal. We go where God places people to plant churches and disciple converts among the Diaspora.  We must get the academies and the local churches — “host” congregations AND “diaspora” congregations on land AND on sea, and even in space — on board to mobilize workers to reach the diasporas!

Thank you, Joy, for taking time from your busy schedule to share with us.

Make sure you download and read “Scattered to Gather: Embracing the Global Trend of Diaspora.”

Few individuals today have been involved in the theoretical and practical matters related to Orality and Bible Storying as J. O. Terry, Bible Storying Consultant/Trainer, International Mission Board (retired).  J. O. served for 35 years in the Asia-Pacific Region as a Media Consultant.  I asked J. O. to share with us some of his thoughts on these topics and Cape Town 2010.

What is the significance for having an entire session at Cape Town 2010 on the topic of Orality and Bible Storying?

The greatest significance is what many of us are calling the “Reality of Orality.” This is a realization that large portions of the still unreached/unevagelized world are basically oral communicators and learn best via oral means. Additional benefits are that Bible stories can cross boundaries of resistance and hostility to traditional evangelistic presentations, and the use of stories–which are easily reproducible by most oral learners–increases the possibility people will in turn pass the stories along to others. One final reason is the continuing need for translated Scripture for those still lacking it. Oral Bible Storying provides an immediate stop-gap presentation of evangelism, discipling, church planting and leadership training teaching.

J. O., for readers not familiar with the topic of Orality and Bible Storying, can you please provide us with some links to your writings?

Here are some links to the Lausanne Conversation Page:

“Are We There Yet”

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/10721

“Feed My Sheep”

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/10383

“The Urgency of Orality”

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/10029

“Should Theology Be Taught Through Non-literate Means”

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/10212

What do you hope will be the outcome of the presentations/discussions on orality after Cape Town 2010 ends this week?

Two good things are bound to come from the presentations and from the relationships established through the presentations and blogs. First, that many of us see that we are not lone voices crying in the wilderness. Not only are there others around the world who share our vision, but they often have perspectives that we also need to have. Second, while the build up to the Cape Town session has been wonderful to establish these relations, the physical presence and conversations between those sharing similar concerns will further cement communication and perhaps result in cooperative projects that will increase the effectiveness of what is already being done for Orality needs.

What do you believe are the implications of Orality and Bible Storying on areas of the world such as North America?

Recent research in the United States has pointed out that by-and-large this country is deficient in literacy and that secondary orality, via recordings and visual media, is replacing traditional literacy. Some of this is evident in the sound-bite phenomenon where people want information in a short popular format rather than lengthy print.  Also, the high-tech, impersonal, world of communication is leading people to search for high-touch relationships.  A recent book by Dr. Avery Willis and Mark Snowden, Truth That Sticks, highlights this need and refers to a highly successful ministry of a growing church in Idaho that uses Bible Storying groups for discipleship training. Another facet has been the growing use of Bible Storying with immigrant/refugee peoples and the large influx of Hispanics into the South.

Thank you, J. O., for sharing with us today.

Since 1994, J. O. has published a quarterly Bible Storying newsletter with safe-to-share Bible Storying news, development hints, resources and training, and other items of general interest to those involved in such ministry. In addition, he maintains several websites that address some of the typical questions related to Bible Storying.
www.biblestorying.110mb.com
www.oralbible.110mb.com
www.sermonstorying.110mb.com
www.Bible-Storying.com

4500 leaders from 200 countries have gathered for this historic event on world evangelization, known as Lausanne III.  For the past several months, a Cape Town 2010 Blogger Network has been together under the leadership of Jon Hirst (FYI: Andrew Jones, writing from Cape Town, posted a link to the 40 bloggers–if you are wanting to keep up this way.).

Recently, I was able to ask Jon a few questions about the network that I thought would be helpful to you.

Jon, this is the first high-tech Lausanne Congress.  How has the Cape Town 2010 Blogger Network contributed to the event?

Many people get carried away and focus on the technology but the technology is only as good as the people using it and engaging through it. The role of the Lausanne Blogger Network has been crucial to getting the Global Conversation going and keeping the content fresh because it brought together over 40 web-savvy communicators. As we encouraged them to write, gave them access to key information and provided opportunities for interviews, they were able to interact on the topics and to infuse some excellent content into the conversation. You might call the group a catalyst for the larger community.

What do you hope will come from the work of the Blogger Network after Cape Town 2010 ends later this week?

Each blogger has his or her own sphere of influence that was not necessarily a group that knew much about Lausanne. That means that these audiences now have an authentic and trusted voice speaking into their lives about the need for global evangelism. I believe that many of these bloggers will be impacted for life and will continue to engage their audiences in these issues over many years to come.

Who are some of the bloggers and how can people follow their posts?

Some of the key bloggers to follow who are on the ground in Cape Town are:

www.justinlong.org

http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/

http://krishk.wordpress.com

http://relevantblog.blogspot.com

www.kouya.net

Thanks, Jon, for taking time to share with us today.

Let me encourage you to pray for Cape Town 2010 and also participate in the conversation HERE.

Jon and his wife, Mindy, are the co-founders of Generous Mind, a think tank devoted to helping people be generous with their ideas.

Over the past year, Evangelicals have heard much coming from Southern Baptists regarding a Great Commission Resurgence.  Well, if you are interested in finding out what it means for my denomination, here is the best place to turn.

This work is edited by my friends and colleagues Drs. Chuck Lawless and Adam Greenway (both handsome fellows as you can see from their dapper photos below).  Chuck is the dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism and Adam is an assistant professor of evangelism and applied apologetics in the Graham School.  The Great Commission Resurgence: Fulfilling God’s Mandate in Our Time is an excellent book that contains chapters from several significant leaders within Southern Baptist circles today.

I recently asked Chuck and Adam to share with us about their book.

Brothers, can you give us a brief introduction to your book?

This book is a compilation of essays and challenges written by Southern Baptist leaders who long for our denomination to be driven by a passion for the Great Commission.

What is the Great Commission Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention and why is it important for Evangelicals in general?

The GCR is a call to return to our Great Commission roots, with a much stronger, evident commitment to reach North America and the world.  The Southern Baptist Convention has long claimed to be a Great Commission people, but we have failed to do all that we can do to evangelize the world and disciple new believers.  The SBC is large enough that our churches can influence much of evangelicalism if we catch fire again for the Great Commission.

The Great Commission Resurgence: Fulfilling God’s Mandate in Our Time suggests that Southern Baptist churches have been largely ignoring the mandate to make disciples of all nations. Where did this problem come from?

I don’t think the neglect has been intentional, and much good has happened through Southern Baptists.  I do think, though, that many church leaders have lost their passion for Christ—and consequently, their passion to tell others about him has waned as well.  We have also failed to disciple many new believers, thus producing generations of believers who have not been adequately grounded in the Word.   The result too often is mediocrity in our churches.

We often hear so many negative things regarding Evangelicals.  What are some of the positive things happening in Southern Baptist churches and their institutions?

Southern Baptists still have a strong missionary force, and they are some of the finest believers anywhere.  We also have the best theological education system available.  Many of our churches are strong, led by pastors who are driven to reach the world.  In fact, the positives in the SBC show us how much more we could do if we focused even more on the Great Commission.

What makes this book different from other books about the Great Commission?

This book reflects the hearts of many leaders in the SBC.  While the book is limited to SBC writers, church leaders of all denominations will find in this book a genuine concern and passion for the Great Commission that is difficult to find elsewhere in a single volume.

Thank you, friends, for giving us a glimpse into your work.

The chapters in this book include:

• “Foreword” by Johnny M. Hunt

• “Introduction” by Chuck Lawless

• “SBC Decline and Demographic Change” by Ed Stetzer

• “A Resurgence Not Yet Fulfilled: Evangelistic Effectiveness in the Southern Baptist Convention Since 1979” by Thom S. Rainer

• “Southern Baptist History: A Great Commission Reading” by Nathan A. Finn

• “The Future of the Southern Baptist Convention” by R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

• “Theology Bleeds: Why Theological Vision Matters for the Great Commission, and Vice Versa” by Russell D. Moore

• “Outside the Camp” by David Platt

• “The Big Picture of the Great Commission” by H. Al Gilbert

• “The Great Commission Tension: God’s Work and Ours” by Thomas K. Ascol

• “A Theologically Driven Missiology for a  Great Commission Resurgence” by Bruce Riley Ashford

• “To All Peoples: The Great Commission and the Nations” by Jerry Rankin

• “North America as a Mission Field: The Great Commission on our Continent” by Jeff Iorg

• “The American Dream or the Great Commission Resurgence?” by Al Jackson

• “The Great Commission Leader: The Pastor as Personal Evangelist” by William D. Henard

• “Preaching for a Great Commission Resurgence” by  David L. Allen

• “The Great Commission and the Urban Context” by Troy L. Bush

• “Great Commission Multiplication: Church Planting and Community Ministry” by J.D. Greear

• “Axioms for a Great Commission Resurgence” by Daniel L. Akin

• “Ready or Not a New SBC Is Coming: Partnering with our Sons and Daughters for a Great Commission Future” by Ed Stetzer and Philip Nation

• “Convictional Yet Cooperative: The Making of a Great Commission People” by David S. Dockery

• “Conclusion” by Adam W. Greenway

Check it out today!

In light of this matter, I want you to be aware of a new book that is hot off the press:  Truth That Sticks: How to Communicate Velcro Truth in a Teflon World. Avery Willis and Mark Snowden, experts in the area of orality, co-authored this work to help us understand the value of Bible Storying and how better to communicate the whole counsel of God to people who do not or will not read that much.

I recently asked Mark to share with us about this book, and his relationship with Avery Willis.  Unfortunately, Dr. Willis was not able to participate in this interview.  He passed away on July 30, of this year–about the time of the publication of their book.        

Avery T. Willis, Jr. was a pastor in Texas and Oklahoma for ten years and served as a missionary to Indonesia for fourteen years. He held a Th.D. in missiology and was the executive director of the International Orality Network.

Mark serves with the North American Mission Board and is a world-class Bible-storying trainer.  He developed an oral Bible for use among a predominantly Muslim people group in central Asia and currently trains church planters in Bible storying.  Mark and his wife, Mary Leigh, currently live in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Mark, give us a quick summary of the book.

Truth That Sticks brings Bible Storying and disciple-making together. The first half focuses on the re-discovering of biblical narrative in the 21^st century and the second half includes the nuts of bolts of discipleship. At least half of the United States population has what has been called an “oral learning” preference. Around the world there are 4.35 billion people (70%) that are considered oral learners. The church can no longer advance on literate feet, but must communicate God’s truths with a world that is busy with other messages. That is why the book’s subtitle is “How to Communicate Velcro Truths in a Teflon World.”

In addition to the great number of oral learners in the world, what are some other reasons for writing this work?

Truth That Sticks is actually the second of a four-book series called DNA21 available through NavPress.com. TTS is the how-to and why-do-it book. When Avery and I were planning the book, it became evident that the book should be told in Avery’s voice. We felt that he would connect more, especially with influences and other leaders who needed to bring change. I caught Bible Storying right away because of my communications education and media production experience. Avery had taught expositional preaching, been a seminary president, wrote MasterLife (LifeWay 1996), which all require the highest levels of literacy. However, in the past 10 years, Avery struggled with how to enter the world of lostness among oral learners and seek to understand and make disciples.

Bible Storying is being used of the Lord among many churches and ministries in the U.S.  And we needed to share this news.  The book is really revolutionary to the literate elite that lead our churches. The book points out that we’re not making disciples as Jesus did, because He used stories, proverbs, and parables—common learning tools of oral learners. When we use literate means to communicate, we seal off those who have an oral learning preference.

What is Bible Storying and why is it important for Evangelicals today?

Evangelicals should sit up and recognize that Bible Storying makes disciples.  Avery and I called this “TruthSticks” methodology. God intended for us to use our senses–sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste—to internalize His Word. Through our senses we learn, remember, and repeat things to others. God wired us to live and learn vicariously through Bible stories. Emotions etch memories so that when they are recalled, you feel as if were there again.

Believers want to be used of God to bring spiritual transformation. We aren’t interested just in conveying the right facts, the right values, and the right choices. People can feign Christianity and even become respected leaders. Hearing and grappling with the truths in the Bible is something different. And being able to pass it along in the real world outside of our church walls is what separates Bible Storying from any other methodology. Everyone can tell a story, but not everyone can remember the outline of a sermon, the fill-in-the-blank discipleship manual, or the analytical detail of most doctrinal positions.

What are the implications for the Church if half of the adults in the United States can only read basic printed material?

Our culture is driving a storytelling revival; it’s animated and 3-D. Yet most of our Bible studies, evangelism and discipleship, and preaching are based on linear and sequential thinking, and conveyed in print formats.  We are experiencing a groundswell of social and spiritual change that is largely the result of changes in our learning-style preferences.

God gave us His Word as a historical narrative. At least 70% of the Bible is continuous prose encapsulated in 500 to 700 stories. Most of our Bible studies, evangelism and discipleship, and preaching are based on linear and sequential thinking, and conveyed in print formats.

We must look at the spiritual shape of our believers and ask, “Are we making disciples?”

Avery insisted that we put in the book that pastors that try to make disciples from the pulpit by delivering a sermon is like someone trying to feed babies in a nursery by hosing them with milk. It can’t be done. Small groups is where the true discipling process begins.

Is there a difference between exegetical Bible teaching and Bible Storying?

In Bible Storying, the responsibility for learning swaps from the teacher to the learner. The learners will better internalize the truths in a passage when prompted by the small group leader – the facilitator. In TTS, we noted the difference between a hook and a club. A club is intended with a different purpose than a hook. What implement did a shepherd carry? A shepherd’s staff is universally depicted as a long hooked staff that could pull the sheep in the right direction. If smacked with a club, a startled lamb could dart in any direction. A club is like an exclamation mark (!) where a hook is like our question mark (?). We need to guide the lambs in a small group to analyze the truths as the Holy Spirit leads.  A small group leader then uses questions to guide the dialogue. The teacher turns into a facilitator who draws as the Holy Spirit is prompting.

TruthSticks uniquely focuses on the small group leader knowing the spiritual condition of his small group. He uses three different types of questions:

Head questions – gets the facts right – did they understand the story? Discipleship is more than just facts, but this is the place to focus on biblical accuracy.

Heart questions – probes at intent and choices made in the story – do they need to change?

Hand questions – personal application — holds believers accountable for making spiritual progress by giving assignments

What makes this book different from other books about evangelism?

When we think evangelism, we often think more about conversion and baptism than making disciples. However, making disciples of oral learners is an unbroken walk similar to the way God made each of us to grow into maturity. Believers go from being dead in sin to born again, then making progress from spiritual infant to child to young adult to parents who reproduce. No longer can we settle for methods that just add disciples to the kingdom. Making disciples among all peoples in the world—crossing the challenging religious, cultural, and political barriers—takes multiplication.

And although I appreciate a thorough biblical chronology linking story after story from creation to the cross, many times one well-placed Bible story can be used of the Lord in powerful ways. In the book, I related a conversation on an airplane with a college student who wanted to know the difference between works and salvation by grace. Rather than launch into a doctrinal analysis, I simply told the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). By the time I finished the story, the young man caught the idea of the father extending grace to his repentant son without any works performed by the son. That kind of evangelism is unique to Bible Storying.

Why is Bible Storying such a great means of changing worldviews?

Everyone has a worldview that is largely shaped by the age of five. We get our sense of right and wrong by that age. Everyone has stories.  The truths of Bible stories begin to be caught by those who hear them. Stories allow us to live vicariously, not as voyeurs, but as an experiment into which we might insert our will and our own responses. Ultimately, we desire all believers to have a biblical worldview. We hear about Jonah running from God’s call and wonder if we could ever be guilty of something of that magnitude. Are we as busy as Martha to the point that we could miss listening to Jesus as her sister Mary was doing? Saul was so wrapped up in his own belief system that Jesus interceded on the road to Damascus. Would we try to cheat God and suffer the same fate as Ananias and Sapphira? Look at the worldview choices that we just experienced in these simple stories – running away, busyness, fanaticism, and stealing. Each are worldview values that are addressed by the truth of each Bible story. Truth That Sticks points out how worldviews apart from God’s plan become flimsy and need the stability that only the rock of God’s Truth can provide.

Why should American churches and church planters turn to Bible Storying as a way to make disciples?

God has brought us to a fullness of time in the 21st century to reach out to non-Christians by meeting in small home groups and telling Bible stories with an open agenda where non-Christians feel comfortable. People can enter a Bible Storying relational group at any point and feel that they can participate in listening to and telling stories and answering questions about them.

TruthSticks strategy of making disciples in open home groups is the perfect place to bring unbelievers, involve them in fellowship, share Bible stories with them and watch the Holy Spirit bring them to faith in Christ. Home groups can very easily transition into becoming new churches. New churches have proven to grow more quickly, and Bible Storying provides a way to help fan the flames of spiritual growth.

What are some encouraging things happening in the U.S. with Bible Storying?

In developing Truth That Sticks, I encountered more than a dozen ministries and churches that have found Bible Storying to work extremely well. Some of them were surprising such as what Campus Crusade was doing on the campus of the University of Central Florida with highly literate students. A new Southern Baptist church in Easley, South Carolina found that storying provided the right relational mix for their professionals. When the Navigators were working in a federal penitentiary in Louisiana, they were surprised that inmates had difficulty memorizing a single Bible verse from Romans, but could tell the story of Joseph spanning ten chapters. Probably one of the most outstanding models was one in a small town in northern Idaho where my co-author, Avery Willis, served as a consultant for several years. Real Life Ministries, in Post Falls, Idaho, was a church that grew from a handful of people to 8,500 in 10 years. Over three years, they transitioned several hundred small home groups to begin Bible Storying. I went to Idaho for a week and studied the church and its ministries. I found four keys to success when small group leaders kept their groups relational, supportive, transparent, and accountable.

What was it like to spend a year with the late Avery Willis while developing this book?

Avery Willis died just as the book was released by NavPress. Avery and I have worked together for more than 15 years in various missions-related roles. However, this was my first book project and his 19^th! I was clearly the learner even though I had been working in Bible Storying through my relationship with pioneers Jim Slack and J. O. Terry since at least 1992. Just after we worked out the details of the book and I began the research phase behind the project, Avery began to have double vision and experience weakness. Throughout the writing, Avery often struggled physically, but never mentally or spiritually. Avery had a keen mind and rock-steady faith to the very end. We exchanged emails or talked about marketing the book until the week prior to his death. We worked on the project from April 2009 until his death July 30, 2010. In the last seven months, Avery had his high and low points as leukemia took its toll on his body. However, I only heard him try to redeem the remaining time, praying for healing, and brainstorming different projects he hoped to be able to accomplish if the Lord permitted. His death was not a shock or hurtful to me, but evoked a “wow.” He pressed toward the mark of the high calling on his life to the very end.

It was a privilege to finish this book with Avery and see it to completion. Al Gilbert, pastor of Calvary Baptist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was among 23 church leaders who gave us rousing endorsements for Truth That Sticks. Al told me at Avery’s funeral that he had just learned of Avery’s death and when he told his secretary, she handed him a copy of Truth That Sticks. We know that God’s timing is perfect and as this legacy edition of the book is distributed, it is my prayer that all peoples will become disciples – including oral learners.

Thank you, Mark, for sharing with us about this work.

Let me encourage you to get a copy of Truth That Sticks: How to Communicate Velcro Truth in a Teflon World, and begin to apply its principles.

Laurie is the managing editor of Evangelical Missions Quarterly and editorial coordinator at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.  She is also editorial coordinator of Lausanne World Pulse.  Gary is associate editor of Evangelical Missions Quarterly and staff missiologist with the international office of Serving in Mission(SIM). 

Recently, I was able to interview them about their book.    

Tell us about Envisioning Effective Ministry.
For 46 years, practitioners and missiologists have been writing articles for Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ) on issues related to Muslim ministry. These articles come from top-notch leaders such as Phil Parshall, Dudley Woodberry, John Travis, Warren Larson, and others. The scope of the discussion goes well beyond this book, but our goal was to compile the top 40 or so articles which have appeared over the years into one compilation. The book covers everything from understanding Islam to issues of contextualization and theology to practical helps in building relationships, church planting, and evangelism. We asked Greg Livingstone to write a foreword on Muslim ministry today and Gary wrote the epilogue on the future of Muslim ministry. John Travis wrote an appendix on receiving prayer for healing of the heart.

Why did you edit this collection of articles on Muslim ministry?

It was really the intersection of felt need with good stewardship. There are a lot of important information needs and issues afoot today with regard to Muslim evangelism and ministry, and EMQ is a repository of 46 years of excellent thought on this subject. The more appropriate question might be, How could we not publish such a book?

 
What are some of the encouraging things happening in Muslim ministry today?
There are many! The last 30 years have witnessed dramatic breakthroughs for the gospel in a number of predominantly Muslim lands. Disciples are being made and churches are being established in places that boggle the mind, often at great personal cost to those turning to Christ. Beyond that, the harvest force involved with reaching Muslims has multiplied exponentially and is now numbered in the thousands, with a great many of them coming from the majority world!

 
There have been several books over the past few years on Muslim ministry. What makes this book different from the rest?
One of the best things about this book is the fact that it shows the progression of ideas and issues over time, with the different points of view on various subjects represented by so many key leaders. It also has an advantage in not being ponderous or unwelcoming to non-academics. The articles are short, crisp, and to the point.
 

Why would our North American readers find this book to be of value?
Not only are many workers in God’s family called overseas to serve in Muslim areas, but increasingly more and more Muslims are moving to North America, are finding this to be home, and are having families. The growth in this world religion even here in the U.S. is staggering, and we all have a calling and a responsibility to reach our neighbors with the love of Christ. EEM is intended to give not only an historical look at the key issues, but to provide help in understanding Islam and how to share the gospel most effectively with our Muslim friends.

How can our readers find out more about your ministry?
The Evangelism and Missions Information Service is the publishing division of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. Our publications include:

• Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ), a quarterly journal providing practical articles from veteran missionaries around the world. It is also available online at www.emqonline.com. There is an annual subscription fee.
• Lausanne World Pulse (www.lausanneworldpulse.com), a free, monthly, online-only publication providing news and information by Christian leaders around the world on issues related to evangelism and missions.
• Centerline, the quarterly newsletter of the Billy Graham Center. You can access it at: www.billygrahamcenter.com/bgcadmin/centerline.html a variety of other books on missions, including helps for those in prison ministry and Muslim ministry. For a list, visit: www.emisdirect.com.

Thank you, Laurie and Gary, for sharing with my readers today.  Keep up the great work for the Kingdom!